1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sewing machines incorporating mechanisms for stitching relatively wide expanses of quilts and similar articles. More particularly, the present invention comprises a series of mechanical attachments for such a long arm type quilting machine, enabling the machine to produce various non-linear stitching patterns in the material being sewn.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mechanized or automated sewing machines for stitching articles having relatively large expanses of fabric have been known for some time. Such machines conventionally have the sewing mechanism positioned at the end of a relatively long arm, to provide a relatively deep throat to allow for the handling of relatively wide expanses of material.
Various mechanisms have been developed for moving the material relative to the sewing head of the machine, or moving the machine relative to the material being stitched. Conventionally, an orthogonal track system is provided, with the material being stitched held stationary during the sewing process, and the machine being moved longitudinally or laterally over the material by means of the orthogonal track system. In some cases, the machine may be translated simultaneously along the two tracks or guides, enabling the machine to produce diagonal and other patterns of stitching.
More recently, electronically guided machines have been developed, in which computerized patterns are used to drive an automated mechanism to produce relatively complex non-linear patterns. However, such machines are relatively costly, with their expense placing them out of the range of the typical hobbyist or home small business.
As a result, there have been some attempts to develop machines capable of producing non-linear stitching patterns, but which use relatively inexpensive mechanisms. The present inventors are aware of some devices which attempt to meet this need, but all of the devices of the prior art known to the present inventors have one or more deficiencies, and/or fail to satisfy all of the requirements of such a machine.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for a guide system for use with long arm quilting machines and the like, which system enables the machine to be used to produce non-linear patterns in a quilt or other wide expanse of material. The present guide system includes a positionally adjustable crossmember which locks in place between the two lateral tracks of the bed of a conventional quilting machine assembly. A slotted arm is secured adjustably to the crossmember, with the arm being adjustable angularly and linearly from its crossmember attachment point. One or more guide components may be removably and adjustably secured to the distal end of the arm, in order to guide the sewing machine as desired. The guide components each include at least one guide slot or rotary hole, in which a stylus or guide pin travels. The guide pin may be raised and lowered to allow the machine and/or guide mechanism to be repositioned as desired, but is otherwise immovably affixed to the sewing machine. The guide pin travels in the slot or rotating hole of the stitching pattern of the selected guide component, thereby causing the machine to translate correspondingly over the bed of the assembly by means of the orthogonal tracks upon which the sewing mechanism travels.
In another embodiment, the guide apparatus comprises a template attachment plate comprising a sheet of material affixed to the bed or table of the machine. The attachment plate includes a matrix of holes therein, as in a sheet of pegboard or the like. A template having a guide slot or channel formed therein is secured to the attachment plate by a series of pegs or pins, with the stylus or guide pin traveling in the template slot or channel to guide the sewing machine.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventors are aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,558 issued on Nov. 27, 1973 to Hans Scholl et al., titled “Template For Sewing Devices,” describes a complex mechanism for use with swing arm mounted sewing machines. The Scholl et al. mechanism comprises a large number of relatively small slotted fingers, which are individually adjusted to define a track along their ends. A roller runs along the track defined by the fingers, thereby guiding the machine during the sewing process. The Scholl et al. mechanism is not adaptable to conventional quilting machines, as used with the present invention, due to the guide mechanism being disposed beneath a fixed support, from which the arms supporting the sewing machine extend. The Scholl et al. mechanism is not adaptable to accept a guide pin extending from the sewing machine, as is the case with conventional quilting machines.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,048 issued on Oct. 10, 1978 to Hans Scholl et al., titled “Template Control For Sewing Machines,” describes a variation upon the mechanism described in the '558 U.S. patent to the same inventors, discussed immediately above. The mechanism of the '048 U.S. patent is quite similar to that of the '558, U.S. patent with the same points of distinction existing between the device of the '558 U.S. patent and the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,210 issued on Jan. 16, 1979 to Hans Scholl et al., titled “Guide Template For Sewing Machines,” describes another mechanism related to those of the '558 and '048 U.S. patents to the same inventors, discussed above. The mechanism of the '210 differs primarily in that the roller guides comprise a pair of elongate arms or tracks along which the guide roller moves, rather than a large number of relatively small or narrow fingers, with the ends of the fingers defining the roller guide track. The same points raised in the discussions of the '558 and '048 U.S. patents, are seen to apply here as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,489 issued on Apr. 24, 199 to Hans Scholl, titled “Adjustable Template For Sewing Device,” describes a guide mechanism having a large number of guide fingers to define the track, as in the U.S. Pat. Nos. '558 and '048 U.S. patent discussed further above. The guide fingers of the '489 U.S. patent include a flexible wire which runs laterally through all of the guide fingers, linking them together for ease of assembly and adjustment. Otherwise, the same points of difference raised in the discussions of the '558 and '048 U.S. patent are seen to apply here as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,540 issued on Aug. 22, 1989 to Rodolfo Resta et al., titled “Quilting Machine With Adjustable-Length Cloth-Holder Cylinder,” describes a quilting machine mechanism in which the sewing head moves linearly along the length of the cylinder, while the cylinder rotates beneath the sewing head to provide the orthogonal movement needed to form stitched patterns in a sheet of material. The large cylinder upon which the workpiece is placed precludes placement of the workpiece between the sewing head and guide mechanism, as the guide mechanism would be enclosed within the cylinder holding the workpiece thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,747 issued on Apr. 14, 1992 to Mario Resta et al., titled “Quilting Machine With Stationary Cloth-Holder Frame And Sewing Heads Movable In Orthogonal Directions,” describes a machine having a stationary workpiece, with one or more movable sewing heads. The mechanism of the Resta et al. '747 U.S. patent comprises a frame or bed, with a pair of opposed stationary upper tracks. A laterally movable pair of upper and lower tracks extends between the stationary tracks, and respectively holds at least one sewing head and a corresponding “hook” or “crochet” head below each sewing head. However, no means is disclosed for guiding the sewing head(s) to form a predetermined stitching pattern.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,340 issued on Nov. 16, 1993 to Ralph F. Conley, Jr. et al., titled “Detachable Template Clamp Having A Removable Sewing Template,” describes a mechanism which grips and moves the workpiece beneath a stationary sewing machine head. Conley, Jr. et al. do not disclose the apparatus for controlling the movement of the workpiece gripping mechanism and workpiece gripped thereby. The Conley, Jr. et al. apparatus is essentially opposite that of the present invention, in which the workpiece remains stationary during the stitching operation, while the sewing head moves over the stationary workpiece.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,236 issued on Jan. 27, 1998 to Hartley B. Badger, titled “Accessory For A Professional Quilting Machine,” describes a guide system for a sewing machine movable on orthogonal pairs of tracks. Only two guides are disclosed by Badger: (1) a diagonal arm against which a guide attached to the movable sewing machine rides, and (2) a rotating arm to which the sewing machine guide arm attaches, to cause the sewing machine to form a circular pattern. No other patterns can be formed using the Badger mechanism. The center of the circular pattern is fixed and the diameters of the circles which may be formed are limited, in comparison to the versatility of the present quilting machine guide apparatus.
Finally, although not prior art, the website of the Gammill Quilting Machine Company accessed on Mar. 13, 2003 includes a disclosure of two assemblies for forming non-linear patterns using quilting machines with movable sewing heads. A first such device, called the Design Center, comprises a base which secures between the two fixed lateral tracks of the conventional quilting machine table. The base includes a rotating circular component therein, which in turn has an adjustably positionable center on which a circle guide may be placed. Various cams and gears can be added to the assembly to form non-circular stitching patterns.
The second device is called the Work Station, and also comprises a fixed base which is secured between the two fixed lateral tracks of the table. A circular device is rotatably installed upon the base, with the circular device including a series of oval patterns thereon. The circular device may be indexed to a limited series of positions or orientations upon the base. A zigzag template is also included, which may be affixed to the base.
Both the Design Center and Work Station operate by means of grooves formed in the various templates, in which a guide pin travels. The guide pin is affixed to the sewing machine head, to cause the head to travel in the pattern defined by the selected groove of the template. However, the two Gammill devices do not provide the versatility of the present invention, due to their relatively fixed positions on the fixed base between the two fixed tracks or sides of the table.
With the Gammill system, the quilt material must be tediously aligned to position the sewing machine needle in the exact location desired, as the locations of the templates, and thus the sewing machine, are fixed relative to the base for any given pattern. In contrast, the present invention attaches the various templates to an arm, with the arm being adjustably attached to a crossmember which in turn adjustably locks between the two tracks or sides of the table. This allows the workpiece and machine to be positioned arbitrarily as desired, with the template position being adjusted to match the resulting location of the stylus or guide pin attached to the machine. The positional adjustability of the base, and further adjustability of the various templates and patterns on the adjustable base, provide considerably greater versatility and ease of use for the present invention in comparison to the Gammill and/or other devices of which the present inventors are aware.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a guide for making non-linear patterns using a long arm quilting machine and solving the aforementioned problems, is desired.